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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Europeancourt Sides with Turkish Militry over electedgovernment;Hijab |
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| abdullahcohn |
| 11/11/05 at 12:19:44 |
| European court upholds Turkey's headscarf ban uploaded 10 Nov 2005 STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Court of Justice upheld on Thursday Turkey's ban on women wearing headscarves in universities, in a victory for the secularist Turkish establishment over the Islamic-based ruling party. The Grand Chamber, effectively the court of last appeal, confirmed an earlier ruling against Leyla Sahin, the Turkish woman fighting the law, leaving her no further legal recourse. It said the notion of secularism in Turkey, which is seeking to join the European Union, was consistent with the values underpinning the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision marked the end of a protracted battle at the European court by Sahin, a student barred from attending Istanbul University medical school in 1998 because her headscarf violated the official dress code. "There is no possibility of further appeal now," a court spokesman said. The ruling was a victory for Turkey's secularist establishment, which includes the president, the powerful military General Staff, judges and university rectors. But it was a setback for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has roots in political Islam and is seeking a relaxation of the curbs on religious expression in Turkey. "Turkey cannot move forward with such bans," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in response to the court verdict. "This ruling does not mean that such restrictions should continue," he said, making clear that the government has not given up its efforts to relax the headscarf ban. The government says it is difficult to bolster the rights of non-Muslim religious minorities in Turkey -- as demanded by the EU -- while Muslims, who form more than 99 percent of the population, still face restrictions on their religious freedom. But Erdogan Tezic, head of the strictly secular body overseeing Turkish universities, welcomed the Strasbourg ruling. "The international dimension of this decision removes the possibility of Turkey issuing a contrary regulation (allowing headscarves in universities)," said Tezic, clearly delighted. "This final verdict is binding on everybody," he said. In its verdict, the Strasbourg court recognised both Turkey's efforts to safeguard women's rights in its constitution and the need to maintain public order. "Imposing limitations on the freedom to wear the headscarf could, therefore, be regarded as meeting a pressing social need by seeking to achieve those two legitimate aims, especially since that religious symbol had taken on political significance in Turkey in recent years," the court said. (Additional reporting by Gareth Jones in Ankara) Source: Reuters ___________________________________________________________ _This proves that democracy is Hypocrisy and voting changes nothing. The elected government of turkey wants to allow Turks to cover their hair but the military refuses, so Hijab is still banned in Turkey. And who does the European nations side with? Turkey is the example America gives to the Muslim world of an Islamic Democracy. When they tell Muslim countries to be Free, they mean freedom to be Homosexuals, not Freedom to Pray. When they talk about Women’s rights, they mean the right to go about naked, not the right to wear clothes. When they talk about democracy, they mean the right to vote for kufr, not the right to vote for Islam. Democracy clearly changes nothing. The only way we can practice Islam is by physically removing the Current government and physically replacing it with an Islamic one. This is what they call extremism. And this is what we need to do. |
| 11/11/05 at 12:29:00 |
| abdullahcohn |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |